REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM >>LORENE: HELLO, I AM LORENE MILLS AND WELCOME TO REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

OH, WE ARE IN FOR A TREAT TODAY, OUR GUEST TODAY IS CONNIE WILLIS, THE WINNER OF ELEVEN HUGO AWARDS, AUTHOR, WINNER OF EIGHT NEBULA AWARDS, ELEVEN LOCUS POLL AWARDS, SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT YOU HAVE WON MORE MAJOR AWARDS THAN ANY OTHER LIVING AUTHOR.

WELL, THAT IS PRETTY POWERFUL AND LET ME BRAG ON YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE.

YOU WERE INDUCTED INTO THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME IN 2009, THE SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA NAMED YOU A GRAND MASTER IN 2011 AND THE BIBLE OF SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORIES CALLED YOU THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION WRITER OF THE AGE, HANDY.

AND THE REPORT FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL HAS CALLED YOU A NATIONAL TREASURE SAYING THAT YOU WALK BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET AND ABOVE AND BELOW.

ANOTHER THING THAT I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW IS THAT YOU ARE MUCH SOUGHT AFTER AS A MASTER OF CEREMONIES FOR ALL KINDS OF EVENTS BECAUSE THERE IS JUST A FLOW IN GRACE AND HUMOR AND GRACIOUSNESS ABOUT IT WHEN YOU DO IT, THAT ALL GROUPS ARE TRYING TO GET YOU ON THEIR DANCE CARD.

OF COURSE, YOU HAVE GOTTEN MANY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, AND I AM HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT YOUR NEW BOOK TODAY, IT IS CALLED THE ROAD TO ROSWELL , BUT BEFOE WE DO ROSWELL , I JUST WANT TO TALK REALLY QUICKLY ABOUT SOME OF YOUR OTHER BOOKS.

FOR EXAMPLE, THIS ONE THE DOOMSDAY BOOK , OH MY GOSH, YOU GOT THE HUGO, LOCUS, AND NEBULA FOR THIS ONE.

THESE BOOKS, WHICH I ADORE, BLACKOUT AND ALL CLEAR, THEY ARE ABOUT THE BLITZ, A FASCINATING SUBJECT AND YOU GOT THE HUGO, LOCUS AND NEBULA FOR THAT.

AND THEN ANOTHER ONE WHOSE TITLE I LOVE, IS CALLED TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG, YOU GOT THE HUGO AND LOCUS FOR THIS.

YOU HAVE SOME LAURELS TO REST ON, BUT YOU ARE NOT RESTING.

>>CONNIE: THIS IS NO REST FOR THE WICKED.

>>LORENE: NO REST FOR THE WICKED.

SO, IT IS THE PANDEMIC AND PEOPLE ARE BEATEN DOWN, TIRED, EXHAUSTED AND YOU HAVE OFFERED TO THE WORLD THIS MORSEL OF DELIGHT.

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST FUN BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ, THE ROAD TO ROSWELL , SO BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT THE BOOK ITSELF, I WOULD LIKE YOU TO TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FRIEND AND CERTAINLY A MENTOR FOR ALL OF US, JACK WILLIAMSON AND YOU HAD SAID AT ONE POINT HE WAS YOUR FAVORITE PERSON IN THE ENTIRE SCIENCE FICTION UNIVERSE, WHICH IS A PRETTY BIG UNIVERSE.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

>>LORENE: TELL ME.

>>CONNIE: I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO GET TO KNOW JACK WHO LIVED IN PORTALES FOR ALMOST ALL OF HIS LIFE, CAME TO NEW MEXICO ON A COVERED WAGON WHEN HE WAS A KID.

AND WROTE SCIENCE FICTION FROM THE 20S, 1920S ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY AND IS THE ONLY SCIENCE FICTION WRITER I THINK WHO CAN CLAIM THAT HE WROTE BOOKS AND STORIES IN TWO CENTURIES AND TWO MILLENNIUMS, SO HE WAS A WONDERFUL PERSON, THE KINDEST, NICEST PERSON EVER.

AND SCIENCE FICTION CAN BE, YOU KNOW, FULL OF EGOS AND PEOPLE WHO REALLY THINK THEY ARE GREAT AND JACK WAS THE MOST HUMBLE PERSON I THINK I HAVE EVER MET, HE WAS JUST LOVELY.

HE LIVED IN NEW MEXICO AND ONLY NINETY MILES FROM ROSWELL.

>>LORENE: ROSWELL.

>>CONNIE: YES AND SO HE NOT ONLY WAS MY VERY GOOD FRIEND BUT ALSO HE WAS A DIRECT INSPIRATION FOR THE ROAD TO ROSWELL BECAUSE I REMEMBER HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM ABOUT ROSWELL AND HE WAS WHEN THE CRASH HAPPENED IN THE 1940S, HE HAD JUST GOTTEN OUT OF THE ARMY, HE HAD BEEN A METEOROLOGIST IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC AND HE AND FRED POHL, ANOTHER FAMOUS SCIENCE FICTION WRITER, DECIDED TO GO DOWN TO ROSWELL AND CHECK IT OUT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENED.

AND THERE WERE NOT TWO PEOPLE ON THE PLANET WHO MORE WANTED THIS TO BE ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE, BUT THEY GOT DOWN THERE, THEY TOOK A LOOK AT IT AND THEY SAID, "AH, IT'S A WEATHER BALLOON," AND CAME BACK HOME.

AND I REALLY VALUE THAT BECAUSE JACK WAS ABOVE ALL A SCIENTIST, HE BELIEVED IN EVIDENCE AND HE BELIEVED IN FIGURING THINGS OUT FOR YOURSELF AND NOT TAKING OTHER PEOPLE'S WORD FOR IT, WHICH WOULD BE A GREAT LESSON FOR ANYBODY INVOLVED IN UFOS.

I JUST REALLY ADMIRED HIM AND I LOVED THAT SKEPTICISM AND I BROUGHT THAT SKEPTICISM TO THE BOOK, BOTH WHEN I RESEARCHED IT AND WHEN I WROTE IT, BECAUSE MY HEROINE OF THE BOOK IS A SKEPTIC WHO THEN FINDS HERSELF ABDUCTED BY AN ALIEN WHICH PUTS HER IN A REALLY DIFFICULT POSITION.

>>LORENE: WELL, JUST ONE MORE WORD ABOUT JACK WILLIAMSON BECAUSE HE WAS AN AMAZING WORDSMITH, AND HE ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTED SOME VERY IMPORTANT WORDS AND THE CONCEPTS BEHIND THEM TO OUR CULTURE AND OUR VOCABULARY, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF THOSE?

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

WE ALWAYS SAY IN SCIENCE FICTION THAT HE GAVE US OUR VOCABULARY FOR DISCUSSING SCIENCE FICTION.

HE INVENTED SO MANY OF THE CONCEPTS WE DEAL WITH EVERY DAY AND THE ACTUAL WORDS, HE IS ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE, WELL HE IS THE ONLY PERSON I KNOW WHO ACTUALLY IS CREDITED WITH INVENTING WORDS THAT WERE THEN IN THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY.

WORDS LIKE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANDROIDS, TERRAFORMING AND THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHERS, HE WAS AN ASTONISHING PERSON, SO.

NO LIMIT TO HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT IF PEOPLE WANT TO READ HIM, HIS WORK IS WONDERFUL, BUT HE ALSO WROTE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY CALLED, WONDER'S CHILD , WHICH I THINK MAY WELL BE HIS BEST BOOK EVER AND HE WON THE HUGO FOR THAT AFTER HE HAD BEEN NAMED A GRAND MASTER, WHICH IS QUITE AN OPTION, HE JUST KEPT WORKING.

>>LORENE: IT CERTAINLY IS.

THERE IS ANOTHER ELEMENT WITH THE WEATHER BALLOON STORY BECAUSE AND I LOVE THAT YOU DANCE IN THE ROAD TO ROSWELL WITH ALL THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES OF WHICH THERE ARE LEGION, BUT THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE POSITIVE WEATHER BALLOON STORY WAS JUST A COVER UP BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY SOME MONSTROUSLY HIGH-TECH EARTH SHATTERING, SKY BREAKING NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT THE MILITARY HAD DONE AND THEY DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW ABOUT IT.

SO THEY FLOATED THIS COVERUP THAT IT WAS A WEATHER BALLOON, NOT WHAT THEY WERE TRYING TO HIDE, SO PEELING THE LAYERS OF THE ONION THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW UNDERNEATH IT AND IT IS ALWAYS A NEW CONSPIRACY THEORY ON TOP OF IT.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT, RIGHT.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS SO FASCINATING TO ME WAS I HAD NOT REALIZED WHEN I STARTED DOING MY RESEARCH THAT THEY HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN WHAT IT WAS.

THAT, IN FACT, IT WAS A COVERUP, I DON'T KNOW HOW HIGH TECH IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE USING DUCT TAPE AND WEATHER BALLOONS AND PIECES OF BOARD.

BUT THEY KNEW IT WASN'T A TOP-SECRET PROGRAM OF THE AIR FORCE DURING THE COLD WAR AND THEY WERE TAKING A BUNCH OF WEATHER BALLOONS, PUTTING THEM TOGETHER AND TYING WITH DUCT TAPE AND THEN STICKING SONIC EQUIPMENT ON TOP AND FLOATING THEM AT HIGH ALTITUDES OVER THE SOVIET UNION TO DETECT ANY ABOVE GROUND NUCLEAR TESTING THEY THOUGHT THE RUSSIANS WERE DOING.

AND SO I WAS JUST SHOCKED THAT EVERYBODY KNEW WHAT IT WAS, THEY GOT DATES AND TIMES AND THEY KNOW WHICH WEATHER PATTERN IT WAS THAT TOOK THE WEATHER BALLOONS OFF COURSE AND THEN THEY WERE CRASHED WHERE THEY DID JUST OUTSIDE OF ROSWELL.

SO THAT PART WAS ASTONISHING TO ME, I ASSUMED THAT THERE WAS A MYSTERY BEHIND IT, THERE WAS NO MYSTERY, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANY MYSTERY.

BUT, YOU ARE RIGHT, THE GOVERNMENT WAS MORE THAN HAPPY TO GO WITH THE ALIEN STORY, I DON'T THINK THEY REALIZED HOW OUT OF HAND IT WAS GOING TO GET.

BUT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BELIEVING ALL KINDS OF NONSENSE EVER SINCE.

>>LORENE: WELL, ONE OF THE CHANGES IN THE HISTORY OF UFOS IS THAT NOW THERE IS A NEW NAME FOR UFOS?

>>CONNIE: YEAH, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT IS.

>>LORENE: UNKNOWN ARIEAL PHENOMENON.

>>CONNIE: WHICH IS THE SAME THING, I MEAN... >>LORENE: EXACTLY.

>>CONNIE: THEY WERE UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS AND NOW, WHAT DID YOU SAY THEY WERE?

UNIDENTIFIED ARIEAL... >>LORENE: UNKNOWN ARIEAL PHENOMENON.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

>>LORENE: UAP INSTEAD OF UFO.

>>CONNIE: TO ME THAT IS SIX OF ONE AND HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHERS.

I DID WATCH THE HEARING, THE RECENT CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS, I WAS NOT IMPRESSED.

THEY SAID THE WITNESSES WERE VERY MUCH JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER UFO PEOPLE SAYING THINGS LIKE, "WELL, OKAY, I DIDN'T ACTUALLY SEE THIS MYSELF, BUT I TALKED TO A GUY WHO TALKED TO A GUY WHO SAW IT."

AND, OF COURSE, THIS IS NOT EVIDENCE, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE, SO UNTIL THERE IS EVIDENCE, I WILL NOT BE PERSUADED THAT THERE IS ANYTHING OUT THERE.

AND I AM JUST LIKE, WHY WOULD THEY COME HERE, WHY?

I WAS ALWAYS GOB SMACKED BY THAT IDEA, THAT WE THINK WE ARE SO IMPORTANT THAT OF ALL THE PLACES TO BE IN THE UNIVERSE, THEY WOULD SOMEHOW SHOW UP HERE.

WE LIVE CLEAR OUT ON ONE ARM OF A PERFECTLY ORDINARY GALAXY AND IF YOU WERE GOING TO GO TO THE MILKY WAY GALAXY, WHICH I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU WOULD, BUT IF YOU WERE, YOU DEFINITELY WOULD GO TO THE CENTER WHICH IS WHERE ALL THE ACTION IS AND THIS IS JUST IT WOULD BE LIKE GOING TO PORTALES, NEW MEXICO OR TO LIMON, COLORADO OR SOMETHING, A SMALL TOWN WHERE WHY ON EARTH WOULD PEOPLE VISIT HERE AND YET, THEY PERSIST IN BELIEVING THAT.

SO I HAVE MY OWN REASONS FOR WHY THESE ALIENS CAME, WHAT THEY WERE UP TO, BUT I THINK MOST OF THE REASONS PEOPLE GIVE ARE SILLY, SO.

>>LORENE: BUT ONE OF THE THINGS YOU DOCUMENT VERY INTERESTINGLY IN THE ROAD TO ROSWELL , IS THE KIND OF ANECDOTAL STORIES THAT SURROUNDED THIS, SO NOBODY SAW THE ACTUAL BODIES, BUT THEY HEARD THAT SOMEBODY ORDERED CHILD SIZED COFFINS.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

>>LORENE: THEN THEY HEARD THAT SOMEBODY ELSE, WHO WAS SOMEWHERE ELSE HAD HEARD THAT SOMEBODY HAD WITNESSED IT, YOU KNOW, IT IS THAT GAME, TELEPHONE, ONE PERSON TELLS SOMETHING AND... >>CONNIE: IT IS IT IS ALL SECOND AND THIRD HAND.

>>LORENE: THEY PASS IT ON.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

>>LORENE: THEN, OF COURSE, THERE IS THE INTRIGUE OBSESSION AND WITH SOME PEOPLE FEAR OF ALIENS AND THERE IS A LONG HISTORY OF CONTACT WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL MOVIES AND ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS YOU DO IN THE ROAD TO ROSWELL , THAT IS KIND OF A PARALLEL BETWEEN WESTERN MOVIES WHICH ARE ABOUT LIKE THE SEARCHERS, JOHN WAYNE HAS TO LEARN HOW TO CONTACT WITH THE NATIVE AMERICANS.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

>>LORENE: ON HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND SO DOES A PERSON LANDING ON ANOTHER PLANET.

BUT ANOTHER ELEMENT THAT YOU HAVE DONE SO BEAUTIFULLY IN YOUR WORK IS THE ISSUE OF TIME TRAVEL.

SO YOU HAVE A SERIES OF OXFORD TIME TRAVEL BOOKS AND TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THEM AND HOW YOU HAPPENED UPON IT, IT IS A WONDERFUL MOTIF, I LOVE IT.

BEFORE YOU START, I HAVE TO REINTRODUCE YOU.

WE ARE HAVING AN ENCHANTING CONVERSATION WITH CONNIE WILLIS.

I JUST ASKED HER ABOUT TIME TRAVEL, TAKE IT, THANK YOU.

>>CONNIE: OKAY, YEAH, I HAVE WRITTEN SEVERAL BOOKS, THEY ARE NOT A SERIES, YOU CAN READ THEM IN ANY ORDER, AND THEY HAVE A FEW CONTINUING CHARACTERS, BUT THEY ARE SEPARATE BOOKS.

AND I AM WORKING ON A NEW ONE SO THAT CONTINUES.

BUT, MY BASIC PREMISE IS THAT OXFORD UNIVERSITY HAS TIME TRAVEL AT ITS DISPOSAL AND SO IT CAN SEND ITS HISTORY STUDENTS BACK IN TIME TO GO TO DIFFERENT PLACES IN TIMES AND SEE THINGS.

THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO AFFECT TIME, ALTHOUGH, THAT IS QUESTIONABLE AND AS BOOKS DEVELOP, WHETHER THEY CAN OR NOT.

AND EACH BOOK SEEMS TO BRING A NEW WRINKLE IN THAT THEORY.

BUT I LOVED THE IDEA OF PEOPLE GOING BACK INTO HISTORY BECAUSE I ABSOLUTELY ADORE HISTORY, PARTICULARLY BRITISH HISTORY AND MY FIRST BOOK, DOOMSDAY BOOK WAS.

WELL THE TIME I EVER WROTE ABOUT THIS WAS, I WROTE FIRE WATCH , WHICH WAS A NOVELETTE ABOUT THE BLITZ, THE LONDON BLITZ DURING WORLD WAR II.

AND THE SECOND ONE WAS DOOMSDAY BOOK , WHICH WAS SET IN THE MIDDLE AGES, AND THEN, BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR ARE SET IN THE BLITZ AGAIN AND I DIDN'T REALIZE I HAD A LOT MORE TO SAY ABOUT THE BLITZ THAN I HAD NOT GOTTEN TO TALK ABOUT.

AND THEN TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG SET IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND WHICH IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PERIOD OF ALL, I JUST LOVED DOING THAT.

THE NEW BOOK IS SET IN OXFORD, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE FROM OXFORD, THEY ARE NEVER IN OXFORD BECAUSE THEY ARE ALWAYS GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE AND SO I DECIDED IT WOULD BE VERY FUN TO SET ONE OF THE BOOKS IN OXFORD, WHICH IS JUST ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES IN THE WORLD.

I MEAN IT HAS LEWIS CARROLL AND IT HAS GOT THE INKLINGS , YOU KNOW, CF LEWIS AND J.R.R.

TOLKIEN AND CHARLES WILLIAMS, IT'S GOT ALICE IN WONDERLAND AND IT'S GOT LEWIS CARROLL, IT'S GOT DOROTHY SAYERS.

IT HAS GOT THE SHELLEY MEMORIAL, IT HAS GOT EVERYTHING, SO I REALLY WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT IT AND HAVING A GOOD TIME WHILE DOING IT.

>>LORENE: WELL, I LEARNED SEVERAL THINGS ABOUT THE BLITZ FROM YOU AND ALAS, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM BECAUSE WE DON'T FOCUS A LOT.

>>CONNIE: THAT'S OKAY, NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT THE BLITZ.

>>LORENE: RIGHT BUT YOU BRING IT TO US AND ALSO I WAS REALLY INTERESTED, OF COURSE, THEY HAD LIBRARIES BECAUSE PEOPLE HAD TO BE UNDERGROUND WAITING FOR THE BOMBS TO DROP AND THAT AGATHA CHRISTIE WAS THE MOST POPULAR BOOK READ BY "BLITZS" OR PEOPLE WHO WERE HIDING OUT IN BOMB SHELTERS SO THAT THEY WOULDN'T GET BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS DURING THE BLITZ.

AND SO TO THINK OF THAT CHAOS AND LAND OF DESTRUCTION FALLING FROM ABOVE AND HAVING CAUSE AND EFFECT AND JUSTICE IN AGATHA CHRISTIE.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

>>LORENE: YOU KNOW THEY PROBABLY WERE REALLY YEARNING FOR THAT.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT, I THINK THAT'S TRUE.

I NOTICED ALSO THE OTHER AUTHOR WHO IS VERY POPULAR IN THOSE SHELTER LENDING LIBRARIES WAS P.G.

WODEHOUSE WHO WROTE CHARMING, FUNNY, COMIC NOVELS ABOUT WOOSTER AND JEEVES AND IT STRUCK ME THAT WHEN THINGS ARE REALLY BAD, PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO READ GRIM, BAD THINGS.

THEY ALREADY KNOW ABOUT GRIM, BAD THINGS THAT IS HAPPENING DIRECTLY TO THEM.

I WOULD BE VERY CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE READING IN UKRAINE RIGHT NOW, WHAT MOVIES ARE POPULAR AND WHAT BOOKS ARE POPULAR BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE REALLY DO NEED ESCAPE ESPECIALLY IN KIND OF GRIM TIMES AND, YOU KNOW, C.S.

LEWIS AT ONE TIME THEY HAD ACCUSED HIM OF WRITING ESCAPE LITERATURE AND HE SAID, "WELL, OF COURSE, I WRITE ESCAPE LITERATURE, WHO WOULD NOT WANT TO ESCAPE WHEN THEY LIVE IN A DUNGEON?"

AND I THOUGHT, YES, OF COURSE, THEY ALL NEED IT.

>>LORENE: SO THIS BRINGS ME TO SOMETHING I WAS GOING TO GET TO LATER BUT IT IS SO PERFECT.

SO IN 2006, YOU WERE THE GUEST OF HONOR AT WORLDCON AND YOU WROTE A PIECE ABOUT, IT IS CALLED "THE MIRACLE OF RARE DEVICE ON BOOKS, SCIENCE FICTION, AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM."

AND I AM JUST GOING TO READ TWO PARAGRAPHS, IF YOU DON'T MIND.

IF YOU WERE HERE, I WOULD HAVE YOU READ THEM.

>>CONNIE: YEAH, OKAY.

>>LORENE: THIS IS WHAT YOU SAID, "BECAUSE WHEN I WAS 12, MY MOTHER DIED SUDDENLY AND SHATTERING ME AND MY WORLD FELL COMPLETELY APART AND I HAD NOBODY TO TURN TO BUT BOOKS AND THEY SAVED MY LIFE.

I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING, THAT BOOKS PROVIDE AN ESCAPE FOR ME BUT IT WASN'T AN ESCAPE, IT WAS ESCAPE I NEEDED WHEN MY MOTHER DIED, IT WAS THE TRUTH AND I COULDN'T GET ANYBODY TO TELL IT TO ME.

INSTEAD, THEY SAID THINGS LIKE, THERE'S A REASON WHY THIS HAPPENED, YOU'LL GET OVER THIS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

YOU SAID, LIES ALL LIES.

I FOUND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, WHAT I NEEDED, WHAT I WANTED AND WHAT I LOVED IN BOOKS WHEN I COULDN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE ELSE AND THAT WAS THE TRUTH.

>>CONNIE: I STILL BELIEVE THAT, I THINK BOOKS, ARE OF ALL KINDS, ARE SO IMPORTANT AND THEY ALL TEACH US SOMETHING AND TELL US SOMETHING.

ONE OF MY BIGGEST COMPLAINTS IS ALWAYS THAT PEOPLE THINK SOMEHOW THAT IF YOU WRITE GRIM AND PRESSING STORIES, THAT THOSE ARE SOMEHOW MORE HONEST AND MORE TRUTHFUL THAN IF YOU WRITE LIGHT, HUMOROUS, HAPPY ENDING TYPE STORIES.

I DON'T THINK THAT IS TRUE AND I THINK THAT I HAVE AN AUTHORITY TO BACK ME UP ON THAT AND THAT IS WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

BECAUSE HE STARTED OUT WITH TRAGEDIES AND THEN HE WENT TO COMEDIES AND HE NEVER LEFT COMEDY AND HIS VERY LAST PLAYS WERE THE TEMPEST AND WINTER'S TALE, WHICH ARE THESE BEAUTIFUL, THEY ARE SERIOUS PLAYS, BUT THEY ARE ALSO VERY, VERY FUNNY.

AND HE KNEW THAT COMEDY WAS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD AND A MUCH MORE HOPEFUL WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD.

SO I AM VERY PROUD OF MY COMIC WORK AND I THINK IT MAY IN SOME WAYS BE MORE IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE THAN THE MORE "SERIOUS" BOOKS THAT I DO.

I THINK THEY ARE ALL SERIOUS AND I THINK THEY ALL BRING SOMETHING.

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN, YOU KNOW, I NEED A REALLY KIND OF GRIM BOOK LIKE, I JUST FINISHED REREADING JOHN KNOWLE'S SEPARATE PEACE, A BOOK THAT I REALLY LOVE, IT'S A REALLY DIFFICULT BOOK TO READ BUT I LOVE IT.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I ALSO LOVE READING BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY AND I FEEL THAT TELLS ME JUST AS MUCH ABOUT THE WORLD.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, BOOKS OF OUR ALL, BOOKS OF ALL STRIPES ARE SO IMPORTANT AND YOU KIND OF GET TO PICK AND CHOOSE AMONG THEM FOR WHAT YOU NEED AT THE MOMENT.

>>LORENE: WELL, I WANTED TO ASK YOU FOR A LONG TIME AS A CREATIVE ARTIST WHO CREATES INTRIGUING AND POSSIBLE FUTURES AND INTRIGUING IMPOSSIBLE PASTS, WHAT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES WE ARE FACING NOW AND AI, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, IS AN ELEMENT THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH, I KNOW OUR FRIEND, MELINDA SNODGRASS WROTE THAT WONDERFUL VERSION EPISODE OF STAR TREK , CALLED "THE MEASURE OF A MAN," AND ALSO STEVEN HAWKINS WAS TERRIFIED OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

SO HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT, IS IT FRIEND OR FOE?

>>CONNIE: YOU KNOW, HOW I FEEL GENERALLY ABOUT THE SITUATION THAT WE ARE LIVING THROUGH, WE ARE FACING ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS, OH MY GOSH, WE HAVE POLITICAL PROBLEMS AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND EVERYTHING.

I AM ALWAYS SPENDING ALL OF MY TIME TALKING MY FRIENDS DOWN FROM THE PANIC THAT THEY ARE IN, YOU KNOW.

I AM STILL EXTREMELY POSITIVE AND HOPEFUL AND OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE.

WE ARE A SPECIES THAT ALWAYS LIVES AT THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS, WE ARE ALWAYS ABOUT TO TOPPLE INTO IT, WE CONSTANTLY THINK IT IS THE END OF THE WORLD AND IT NEVER QUITE IS AND WE SOMEHOW RISE TO THE CHALLENGE AND THE PEOPLE THAT YOU EXPECT TO RISE TO THE CHALLENGE FREQUENTLY DON'T, WHICH IS WHY THEY GET SO DEPRESSED BUT THEN PEOPLE JUST COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK AND RISE TO THE CHALLENGE.

THE PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD NEVER EXPECT TO SEE TURN OUT TO BE THE HEROES AND THE HEROINES OF THE TIME.

AND SO I JUST REALLY, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I LOOK AT THE WORLD, OH MY GOSH, WE ARE ALL FALLING APART AND LOOK AT THE RACISM, LOOK AT THE BIGOTRY, LOOK AT THE WAY LGBTQ PEOPLE ARE BEING TREATED, LOOK AT ALL THESE THINGS.

AND THEN I THINK OH MY GOSH, BUT LOOK HOW FAR WE HAVE COME AND WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS EVERY SINGLE DAY AND THAT IS WHY THERE ARE SO MUCH CONFLICT BECAUSE WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS AND BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NOT GIVING UP.

SO IN TERMS OF THE AI SITUATION, I DON'T KNOW TECHNICALLY ENOUGH ABOUT IT TO KNOW HOW MUCH OF A DANGER IT IS AND I CERTAINLY CAN SEE THE BAD SIDE AND IN FACT, I THINK SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS, THEIR JOB ALMOST ALWAYS IS TO GO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE IS SOME GORGEOUS NEW TECHNOLOGY, TO GO, NOW, JUST A MINUTE HERE HANG ON FOR A SECOND, AND THEN POINT OUT ALL OF THE UNINTENDED NEGATIVES, POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES.

ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO HAVE FAITH, THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND WITH ALL OF ITS UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE, THE COMING OF MECHANIZED LABOR AND ALL OF THOSE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

AND PART OF ME THINKS, OH, THIS IS JUST ONE MORE, THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW PEOPLE JUST SAY, NO, NO, IT IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

AND I GO LIKE, I AM NOT SO SURE, I MEAN IT HAS DIFFERENT CHALLENGES AND I AM SURE THERE ARE REAL DANGERS OUT THERE AND HUMANS ARE ALWAYS SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT NEARLY KILLING THEMSELVES WITH ONE THING AND ANOTHER.

THIS COULD BE THE ONE THAT DOES US IN, BUT IT COULD ALSO SAVE US.

YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I KEEP HEARING ABOUT THERE ARE THESE MEDICAL PROBLEMS AND SCIENTIFIC PROBLEMS AND MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS THAT NO HUMAN CAN SOLVE, ONLY THIS AMAZING COMPUTING POWER OF AI CAN COME CLOSE TO TRYING TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS.

SO, I AM LIKE, I AM STILL ON THE FENCE ABOUT THIS.

>>LORENE: WELL ONE SIDE ASPECT OF THAT IS IF YOU HAVE JUST A MINUTE TO TALK TO ME ABOUT THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE SCIFI WORLD AND GEEKDOM, ARE THERE MORE WOMEN HAVING A MORE VIBRANT PRESENCE?

>>CONNIE: RIGHT, YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WOMEN IN SCIENCE FICTION, NOT A LOT BUT THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WOMEN THERE.

IN THE EARLY DAYS, C.L.

MOORE WAS ONE OF THE BEST WRITERS AROUND AND THEN WE HAD A WHOLE GENERATION OF WOMEN WHO DIRECTLY ADDRESSED WOMEN'S SPECIFIC PROBLEMS, YOU KNOW, JOANNA RUSS AND URSULA LE GUIN AND PEOPLE LIKE JAMES TIPTREE JR, WHO IS ACTUALLY RACCOONA SHELDON AND THEN NOW WOMEN ARE KIND OF LIKE EVERYWHERE AND DOING EVERYTHING IN SCIENCE FICTION.

NOW WE ARE ALSO GETTING WOMEN FROM ALL DIFFERENT CULTURES AND EVERYWHERE ALL OVER THE WORLD AND THEY ARE BRINGING REALLY DIFFERENT VIEW POINTS AND DOING REALLY INTERESTING THINGS WITH FICTION.

THAT'S THE THING I LOVE ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION, IT KEEPS EVOLVING AND CHANGING, IT NEVER STAYS THE SAME.

AND I AM EXCITED ABOUT THAT, I JUST THINK IT IS A CONSTANTLY NEW AND EXCITING FIELD TO BE IN.

>>LORENE: WELL, YOU ARE EMBLEMATIC OF THE FRESH, NEW VISION OF THE WORLD AND I AM SO GRATEFUL.

I JUST WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE OF YOUR LATEST BOOK, THE ROAD TO ROSWELL FOR ANYONE WHO LOVES NEW MEXICO AND WHO WANTS A DELIGHTFUL READ.

I RECOMMEND THIS.

YOUR LAST ONE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IS CALLED CROSSTALK AND IT IS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA AND TWITTER AND HOW TO ESTABLISH REAL COMMUNICATION BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF FALSE FRONTS OUT THERE.

>>CONNIE: RIGHT.

>>LORENE: OUR GUEST TODAY, IT HAS BEEN MY HONOR TO HAVE YOU, CONNIE WILLIS, THANK YOU AUTHOR EXTRAORDINAIRE.

THANK YOU FOR SPENDING TIME WITH US TODAY.

>>CONNIE: THANK YOU, THIS HAS REALLY BEEN FUN.

I LOVE DOING THIS.

>>LORENE: THIS HAS, IT HAS.

AND I AM LORENE MILLS AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU OUR AUDIENCE FOR BEING WITH US TODAY ON REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM